Call them the Backcourt Basement Boys.
Chadwick’s Grady Preston and Tristan Smith have blossomed during the Cardinals’ magical post-season run, showing off their uncanny ball-handling skills while keeping turnovers at a minimum.
Both of them honed their craft as youngsters in the basements of their homes.
“Me and my Dad worked in our basement dribbling ever since I was little,” Smith said. We worked on my ball-handling all the time.”
“We've got a concrete pad in our basement and I would do dribbling drills and cone drills,” Preston said. “All that training, when you're younger, you're thinking, 'Man, when is this going to happen, when is this going to help?' Now, it's really shining.”
Chadwick (26-3) knows all too well the importance of turnovers. The Cardinals knocked off three-time defending Class 1 state champion South Iron thanks largely to their defense forcing the Panthers to commit 15 turnovers.
Chadwick’s turnover total has consistently been in single digits.
“Throughout the year, we worked on (ball-handling) a lot,” forward Clayton Garrison said. “At the beginning, when people would press us, we'd turn the ball over. But we've gotten a lot better. Tristan and Grady have stepped up big.”
“We understand that if we turn over the ball up top, it's an easy two points for the other team,” Smith said. “We know we have to keep control of the ball.”
There should be no underestimating the chemistry between Preston and Smith.
“The entire team is like a family, and Grady is like a brother to me,” Smith said. “I don't remember him ever talking much when we were little. But, after a couple years, we talked to each other more, grew on each other and became better friends. Now, me and Grady talk all the time. He's funny as can be and a great person to be around.”
